PARIS — One of the odder phenomena of the current electoral season in France has been a mating dance between Dieudonné, a virulently anti-Semitic black comic, and Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the far- right National Front, who has sought in recent years to temper his extremist message to attract a broader following.

It is a tricky business for Le Pen, who came in second in the presidential elections five years ago and is expected to do well again this year. Embracing Dieudonné could cost him the backing of rightist voters attracted by Le Pen's hard line on immigration but repulsed by the comic's jokes about the Nazi gas chambers. At the same time, it could win Le Pen support among anti-establishment youth, many of black African and North African descent, whose anger has not died down since rioting erupted across France more than a year ago.

Dieudonné, previously a popular mainstream comic and activist for progressive causes, has acquired pariah- hero status for elements of this fringe through anti- Jewish and anti-American satire far beyond the bounds of polite political discourse, and sometimes beyond the law.

He was sued (unsuccessfully) under anti-terrorism laws in 2003 for saying he preferred "the charisma of bin Laden to that of George Bush." He was sued again after appearing disguised as an ultra-Orthodox Jew on France 3 television in December 2003 and appealing to "young people in the projects who are watching us today" to "join the axis of good, the American-Zionist axis."

Dieudonné was fined in March for inciting racial hatred by describing Jews in a newspaper interview as "former slave traders who have turned to banking, show business and, today, terrorist action" through support of Israeli policies. He was fined again in June for slander for alleging in a magazine interview that a popular French television personality was financing the Israeli Army.

His comments reverberate across the Internet directly or via sympathizers like Raphaël Confiant, a French writer from Martinique who substitutes the expression "the unnameable" (which carries the nuance "unspeakable" in French) for the word "Jews."

Dieudonné, who partnered his act with a Jewish comedian for a decade before switching tacks, has made several forays into politics. He ran for Parliament on a black-rights platform in 1997 against a senior National Front politician, Marie-France Stirbois. He campaigned for the French presidency in 2002, and briefly campaigned last autumn before ending his candidacy.

Before dropping out of the race in October, he visited the Middle East along with several French extreme- rightists, meeting in Beirut with leaders of Hezbollah and Jesse Jackson, the American civil rights activist.

Then, in November, Dieudonné dropped in at the National Front's yearly festival, creating a stir. Although some Front supporters were nonplused, Le Pen and Dieudonné shook hands with broad smiles in images captured by television cameras. "What we have in common," Dieudonné was quoted as having said, "is that we have both experienced extreme diabolization."

The visit angered former friends of Dieudonné.

"He's lost his mind," said Julius- Amédée Laou, a black playwright who previously worked with the comic.

Many supporters were confused, so Dieudonné called a meeting where he told participants that he wasn't asking them to vote for Le Pen — although he wasn't telling them not to, either. Some voiced dismay that Dieudonné was associating with Le Pen. But others, according to an article in Le Monde, asserted that France was in a "pre-revolutionary situation" and that they were "tempted by the idea of blowing up the system" by supporting Le Pen.

As for Le Pen himself, he has seemed unable to decide whether the attention from Dieudonné is a blessing or a threat.

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When Dieudonné invited the National Front leader to the finale of his 2006 variety show in December, Le Pen stayed away but sent his wife, Jany; his No. 2, Bruno Gollnisch; and Eric Lorio, the former husband of his daughter and heir apparent, Marine Le Pen.

According to press reports, Dieudonné parodied Hitler in his bunker, called for "freedom of speech" for Robert Faurisson, a Holocaust denier, and got big laughs for a sketch about a schoolboy who contests "the existence of air chambers."

A few days later, Le Pen was asked on radio whether he found Dieudonné's brand of anti-Semitism funny and replied in the affirmative. "Yes, it can be rather funny," he said. "There should be no subjects that escape from criticism or irony."

Gollnisch was also asked about Dieudonné. "He came to our festival, we went to his show — that doesn't mean we agree on everything," Gollnisch replied, according to Le Figaro. "If we can meet one day for a more serious discussion, why not?"

That discussion may depend on how Le Pen reads the electoral intentions of first-time voters, who rushed to register in the last week of December, according to the Interior Ministry. The rush was strongest in some suburbs, where registrations are up 20 to 25 percent since the last presidential election, and where young people overwhelmingly oppose Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, the leading candidate of the center-right.

Sarkozy's hard line on rioters in the suburbs infuriated youth of North African and black African descent during the November 2005 disturbances; he has since waged a campaign to deport illegal immigrants.

Leftists who sponsored the get-out- the-vote campaign expect anti- Sarkozy sentiment in the suburbs to benefit Ségolène Royal, the Socialist candidate for president. But the situation is volatile.

Le Pen was endorsed recently by Ahmed Moualek, who runs a rabidly anti-Semitic, pro-Dieudonné Web site called "La Banlieue s'exprime" ("The Suburbs Speak"). The day after Dieudonné went to the National Front festival, the site got 40,000 hits, 10 times the norm. The site, like others, is campaigning against Sarkozy, making much of the fact that he is one-quarter Jewish.

The vast majority of the French, including the black community, reject such hate messages. Still, it is impossible to predict how many young voters may take their cue from Dieudonné and support the National Front.

With or without their votes, Le Pen is confident. "Sarkozy," he said as early as October, "has no chance of being present in the second round."